Hospital door latch mechanism



June 26, 1945. H. G. voxGHT HOSPITAL DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed Deo. 4, 1945 Patented June 26, 1945 .,279l326 HOSPITAL DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Henry Voght, iHamden, Conn., assignor to Sargent & Co inpany, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut y l I Application December 4, 1943, serial No. 512,849

`zolaim's (C1. 292-173) This invention relatesto door latches, yand more particularly to a door latch adapted for use on hospital doors, or in. locations where aperson desiring to,open,the door may not have his hands free to, operate the latch.

`v,Itis desirable .to providesome form of latching device for'doors in hospitals and like institu- `tions to holdl them inclosed position. On the other hand, nurses andattendants often carry articles ,in their ,hands,. andthus do not .have .their hands freeto operate av knob or other door handleof usual'charactenalt is, therefore, advantageoustoV provide.- a. handle or ,otherv operatingmemberion theface of the door of such constructionthat it may be operated by pressure of the armor wrist, so. that anyone desiring ,to open thedoor mayk operate the latch and pull` the door --to open. 4position Without.. necessarilyusing the hand orviingers for. this purpose a Ity is. also advantageous to havesimilar-foperating members on both sides ofthe door,..so. that thedoor. may beopened from either side and the operating members be made in duplicate to save manufacturing costs.

One object of the present invention is lto provide a latch and latch-operating mechanism of novel construction for hospital doors or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide a latch for hospital doors or the like, which latch is operated by a handle pivotally mounted upon the face of the door and designed to be moved about its pivot by pressure of the arm or wrist.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a latch structure of the character described wherein the handle mechanism Will be duplicated upon opposite sides of the door, so that the bolt may be retracted from either side.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a door latch of the character described having a latch bolt operated by a handle pivoted intermediate its ends to the side of the door, one end of the handle being connected directly to the latch bolt to operate the same, while the end of the handle upon the other side of the pivot is spaced from the door so that anyone desiring to open the door may readily insert the wrist or arm between the face of the door and the free end of the handle.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of the edge of a door having mounted thereon a latch and latchoperating members embodying my improvements;

. Fig. v2 is an elevational viewbf the face of the door showing the latch mechanism; f. f y.'

Fig. V3 is a sectional view online; 3`-,.3. ofFigfZ; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of- Fig-,2;

Fig. 5 is a view of ntheilatch bolt and case, the

cover -of 4the case being removed to show the ini terior construction.

.To illustrate a preferred embodiment of myinvention, I have shown a portion of a door at I inthe edge of whichis a cylindrical opening or bore Il in whichis disposed a lock case ,12, which case will be of generally cylindricalform but. is

fattened at its' sides adjacent the rear, thereof,.as

shown at I3.l The caseis `provided with a ,face plate I4, which maybe secured to. the,door,. by thescrews Ma, thussecuring the case to the door. The bolt Vmechanism may be of very. simple form, such, for example, as ,shown in Fig. 5, in .whichis shown a bolt Vlli adaptedto projectfrom the case and carried by a bolt stemI I6 slidably `mountedin the case. .Therboltisurgedtoproltracted position by a spring l1 acting against the bolt head at oneV end-,and atthe other end against a post I8 xed to the case. Adjacent its rear end the bolt stem is provided With an opening I9 to receive latch-operating members, as will be presently described, and in registration with this opening the casing is provided with elongated openings 2U in each of the opposite side Walls.

The latch construction above described is adapted to be operated by handles pivoted to the door, one at each side thereof. These handles are shown at 2 t, and are of a form designed to be used upon doors of public institutions such as hospitals. These handles are secured upon the face of the door andare provided with free ends 22 designed to be spaced from the door so that the arm or wrist of a person desiring to enter `the room may be inserted between the handle and the door, or may engage the handle at one side thereof without interference from the door.

As shown, each of the handles is pivoted to the door adjacent its central portion, and for this purpose is provided with a post 23 having a reduced portion 24 rotatably mounted in a plate 25 secured to the door by fastening members such as screws 26. The post 23 maybe secured to the plate 25 by means of a Washer 21 on the inner side of the plate, which washer is secured to the post by a screw 28, thus pivoting the arm to the door to swing about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the face of the door. It will be understood that normally the plate 25 will be secured upon the post 23 before the former is secured to the door by the screws 26, and the connection of the door handle with the latch bolt mechanism is constructed to permit this method of assembling the parts, as will presently appear.

Each of the handles adjacent its upper end, as

. shown, and on the side of its pivot oppsite the free end 22 is provided with a spindle 30 adapted to be insertedthrough elongated slot 3l formed in the door, which slot communicates with the bore Il and also lies opposite the corresponding opening 20 in the lock case, so that the spindle 30 enters the lock case and extends into the opening I9 of the bolt stem I6. It may be noted that the openings 20, as well as the openings 3l, are somewhat Wider than the width of the spindles 30, so as to allow for the movement of the spindle in an arcuate path when the handle is turned about its pivot. This is also true of the opening I9 in the bolt stem.

It will be noted that the spindles 3U, entering from either side of the door, each extend into the opening i9 of the bolt stem so that the bolt may Upon release .of the handle the spring il will ,re-J` store .the parts to their former positions'.

At their upper Vends .the door handles may be provided `with face portions 33, which are horizontally elongated to vconceal `the openings 3|, and

it may also be no'd .that the plates 25 may be" spaced slightly `from the faces of the door by their laterally turned edges 34 .so that .the washer .21 will be free to rotate with the .door handle and `not bind between the plate and the door.

.be retracted by the pivotal movement of either handle.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

i. A latch for hospital doors or the like comprising a, casing, a latch bolt reciprocably mounted therein, a handle pivoted at a point intermediate its length to the face of the door and arranged to swing about an axis perpendicular to said face, said handle having a body portion spaced from the door including afreely depending lower end extending below the pivot point and having en inwardly projecting part at its upward end extending toward the door, a spindle carried by said last-named part and projecting into an open..

ing in the door and into the casing, and means connecting said spindle to the bolt to withdraw the `same when the handle is swung about its pivot.

2. VA latch for hospital doors or the like comprising a casing, a latch bolt vreciprocably mounted therein, a handle having a body portion spaced from the door, a post secured to an intermediate part of, and projecting inwardly from, the body portion of the handle, said post being pivoted to the door whereby the handle may swing about an axis perpendicular to the face of the door, laid handle having a. part at the upper end o! the body portion turned toward the door, a spindle carried by .said part and projecting into an .elongated opening in the door, said casing having an elongated opening to receive said spindle, means connecting the spindle .to the latch bolt to withdraw the latter when the handle is swung about its pivot, and the body portion of said handle including a freely depending lower end spaced from the door and directed outwardly therefrom for manual engagement.

HENRY G. VOIGHT. 

